Civic sport sedan or Corolla se?

justasimpleman

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If finances work out as planned in the next couple weeks, I plan on getting one of the two... looking to get manual transmission for both. I had a sport sedan in the past, and was pretty happy with it, just traded it in for a higher trim level.

Aesthetics wise, new gen corollas look great, but when I bought my sport sedan last year, I test drove a cvt used Corolla (previous body style), and power was lacking, and it seemed pretty small inside compared to the civic.

Being that itā€™s not exactly an easy task to find a MT Corolla, Iā€™m wondering if itā€™s worth my time to drive around Southern California to find one, and test drive?

If anyone has any type of experience with both, or just has some knowledge, Iā€™d appreciate any input.
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AVR

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Both cars are reliable I am not going to trash Toyota, in my opinion Hondas have a more engaging sportier feel when you drive them. Toyotas drive more redefined I guess you can say.
 
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justasimpleman

justasimpleman

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Both cars are reliable I am not going to trash Toyota, in my opinion Hondas have a more engaging sportier feel when you drive them. Toyotas drive more redefined I guess you can say.
I had a 2000 Corolla that I drove for years, that was a great car... wasnā€™t exactly fun to drive like either of my civics.
 

'19Sport6Man

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The Civic Sport sedan will have a much sportier feel, in terms of handling, and a very engaging manual transmission.

Reliability for both cars is at the top of the scale, so either car is a safe bet in that regard.

I haven't driven a newer corolla with a manual transmission, but pretty sure the stick is taller with longer throws. Honda has a well deserved reputation for a sporty manual, not sure about current Toyotas. If you are seriously considering one make sure you get a test drive, to make sure that the shifter doesn't feel like a screwdriver stuck in a box of gravel.

Another benefit of the Honda Sport sedan is the ease of upgrading the shifter - I upgraded mine with an OEM Civic Type R shifter ($60), Acuity solid base bushings and shift cable bushings($100) - did the install myself took me 3-4 hours taking my time.

https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...h-acuity-stage-2-shift-kit.55400/#post-890930
 


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justasimpleman

justasimpleman

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The Civic Sport sedan will have a much sportier feel, in terms of handling, and a very engaging manual transmission.

Reliability for both cars is at the top of the scale, so either car is a safe bet in that regard.

I haven't driven a newer corolla with a manual transmission, but pretty sure the stick is taller with longer throws. Honda has a well deserved reputation for a sporty manual, not sure about current Toyotas. If you are seriously considering one make sure you get a test drive, to make sure that the shifter doesn't feel like a screwdriver stuck in a box of gravel.

Another benefit of the Honda Sport sedan is the ease of upgrading the shifter - I upgraded mine with an OEM Civic Type R shifter ($60), Acuity solid base bushings and shift cable bushings($100) - did the install myself took me 3-4 hours taking my time.

https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...h-acuity-stage-2-shift-kit.55400/#post-890930
I had a MT sport for almost a year, and was happy with it. As far a a MT Corolla, my local dealership doesnā€™t have any, and I went in yesterday to see how difficult it wouldnā€™t be to get one in, they basically said it would be next to impossible, and they were kind of assholes about it... so I wonā€™t be back there. Some online research shows that some dealerships an hour + away have some in stock, not sure I want to make the drive... I might, just to see how I like it.
 

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Same thing I posted in another similar topic...

I test drove a 2020 Corolla SE 6m before buying my civic hatchback sport. I fully intended to get the corolla UNTIL I drove it.

Weaker brakes, mushy handling with body roll and engine had zero personality. I felt like I was driving a brand new car from 1995.

The Civic Hatchback sport 1.5t is on a different planet in terms of driving dynamics and even with cvt, is significantly more fun to drive than the Corolla SE.
 
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justasimpleman

justasimpleman

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If I get the civic sport, 99.9% Iā€™ll be getting the sedan with the 2.0 n/a engine, unless I can get a deal on the sport hatch, being that I already have my 1.5 ex hatch. No real need for 2, even though I wouldnā€™t hate having 2 hatches.

If I have time this coming up weekend, Iā€™ll take the trip to test drive a Corolla MT, just to say I did...
 

James3spearchucker

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If I get the civic sport, 99.9% Iā€™ll be getting the sedan with the 2.0 n/a engine, unless I can get a deal on the sport hatch, being that I already have my 1.5 ex hatch. No real need for 2, even though I wouldnā€™t hate having 2 hatches.

If I have time this coming up weekend, Iā€™ll take the trip to test drive a Corolla MT, just to say I did...
I hate it when dealers want to be sticks-in-the-mud! I drove 600 miles up to Colorado to take possession of a Chevy Cruze and ended up taking the Civic Hatchback Sport instead as the clutch felt better. Purely a single item choice. The Honda was over my budget as the Cruze was 16k and the Honda was over 20k. So, if you need to drive 100 miles to drive and possibly buy the Corolla, enjoy the drive and know that at least you don't have to find a place for the night as I did with my long journey. My notes when driving the Corolla were that it looks fabulous, rides great and is quiet car, but I stayed in my Civic because it felt marginally more fun and has marginally more interior room. Looking back I wish I had cared more about the entertainment systems, as my Civic does not have touch screen or very good sound and it does not have the great sounding satellite radio that the Cruze has. Hopefully Corolla has improved the sound in today's model, because it had pretty bad sound when I drove it 2 years ago.
 
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justasimpleman

justasimpleman

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I hate it when dealers want to be sticks-in-the-mud! I drove 600 miles up to Colorado to take possession of a Chevy Cruze and ended up taking the Civic Hatchback Sport instead as the clutch felt better. Purely a single item choice. The Honda was over my budget as the Cruze was 16k and the Honda was over 20k. So, if you need to drive 100 miles to drive and possibly buy the Corolla, enjoy the drive and know that at least you don't have to find a place for the night as I did with my long journey. My notes when driving the Corolla were that it looks fabulous, rides great and is quiet car, but I stayed in my Civic because it felt marginally more fun and has marginally more interior room. Looking back I wish I had cared more about the entertainment systems, as my Civic does not have touch screen or very good sound and it does not have the great sounding satellite radio that the Cruze has. Hopefully Corolla has improved the sound in today's model, because it had pretty bad sound when I drove it 2 years ago.
At this point, Iā€™m actually leaning toward/trying to talk the wife into getting an si instead... Iā€™m almost there. Just waiting (crossing fingers) that some funds end up right in the next couple weeks..
 


Ji671

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I was on the fence between both, I'm a bigger fellow and the corolla felt a little too cramp for me. Hence why I went with the civic hatch. I've owned various Hondas and Toyotas over the year and it just comes down what you are really looking for.
 

James3spearchucker

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At this point, Iā€™m actually leaning toward/trying to talk the wife into getting an si instead... Iā€™m almost there. Just waiting (crossing fingers) that some funds end up right in the next couple weeks..
Remind her that SI will retain its value better if taken care of.
 

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I actually just had this choice, and opted for the Civic Hatch. I just can't deal with the way they have the infotainment screen setup in the Toyota's right now. I hate how it actually sticks up over the dash.
 

James3spearchucker

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I actually just had this choice, and opted for the Civic Hatch. I just can't deal with the way they have the infotainment screen setup in the Toyota's right now. I hate how it actually sticks up over the dash.
I agree. The screen was too high and the sound quality was poor. What year Hatch did you pick up?
 


 


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